Pages from the Contemporary Danish Bible. Photo: Danish Bible Society
A word of clarification from the Lutheran World Federation
(LWI) – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has been alerted to reports about the Contemporary Danish Bible 2020, published earlier this year. Some commentators have referred to this as a “Lutheran” translation, taking issue with translations of the word “Israel” with “The Jewish People”, “The Jews”, “God’s chosen people”, or “The People” in the New Testament.
The Contemporary Danish Bible 2020 is published by the Danish Bible Society, an interdenominational organization that is independent from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark.
The Danish Bible Society has explained that this translation has the purpose of making the Bible accessible to “secular readers with no or little knowledge of the Bible and of its history and traditional church and Bible language.” For any questions on the translation, please contact the Danish Bible Society directly.
Furthermore, and in general terms, the LWF wishes to reiterate the position that Lutheran churches reject anti-semitism and affirm the integrity and dignity of the Jewish faith. This was stated at the LWF Assembly in Budapest in 1984, where the LWF member churches also distanced themselves from the writings and expressions of Martin Luther against Jews. This position remains unchanged.
